Schilf v. Eli Lilly & Co., No. 11-2082 (8th Cir. 2012)
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Approximately one month after Dr. Richard Briggs prescribed sixteen-year-old Peter Schilf Cymbalta for his depression, Peter committed suicide. The Cymbalta literature did not include an FDA-approved black box warning stating that Cymbalta could induce suicidality in children diagnosed with depression. Peter's parents (Appellants) sued Eli Lilly & Company and Quintiles Transnational Corporation ("Lilly"), alleging that Lilly's failure to warn and deceit caused the death of Peter. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Lilly. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, holding (1) there were genuine issues of material fact whether Dr. Briggs knew the suicide-related information that an adequate warning would have contained; and (2) there were genuine issues of material fact whether an adequate warning would have changed Dr. Briggs' decision to prescribe Cymbalta to Peter.
Court Description: Civil case - products liability. District court erred in granting defendant summary judgment on plaintiffs' failure-to-warn claim as there are genuine issues of material fact as to whether their son's physician knew the suicide-related information an adequate warning would have contained and whether an adequate warning would have changed the physician's decision to prescribe Cymbalta to deal with the son's depression. Judge Gruender, concurring in part and dissenting in part.
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